I have been mediating on being still before the Lord.  A visitor to Wholesome Talk asked for more on the topic after reading The Art of Being Still, and since I am a long way from mastering the skill I thought it would do me good to give stillness some more reflection.  Today, I have been going at a dead-run all day.  We had a candidate for a position opening on campus, a group interview and lunch with her, plus I had my class, and with it, another batch of essays to grade.  I also have fantasies about fixing dinner and exercising, sometime before midnight.

      The Lord brought to my mind the old worship song by Andy Parks, “In the Secret.”  The lyrics really minister to me.

In the secret, in the quiet place, In the stillness, you are there.  In the secret, in the quiet hour I wait, only for you, Cause I want to know you more…

Just thinking of the words to that song reminds me that there is an extremely worthwhile get-away waiting for me even on the most hectic of days.  As we sit in God’s presence, taking in his Word, his love, and give ourselves to worship, we come face-to-face with his peace.  His stillness surrounds and envelops.  It’s a beautiful picture.

     So, what if you don’t have a “quiet hour”?  I am learning that as I keep my thoughts focused on God, even as I go about my day, his peace and calm stay with me.  I can pray while I am driving.  I can pause in my essay grading and thank God for his provision, his care, his protection.  Keeping my focus on God keeps my mind at rest, and guards me from giving way to anxiety.

     Psalm 37 also came to mind.  Most folks love this psalm because it says that God will give you the desires of your heart.  Great promise, right?  Who wouldn’t want that?  It may sound silly, but I take greater comfort in the verses that precede that promise:

Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.  Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.

I believe that a lot of the tendency to strive, and try to work things out for ourselves stems from a need to perform well and to make things happen.  Now, there is nothing inherently wrong with being driven, but God does not call us to perform.  He calls us to be obedient and to trust him.  Which is harder?  To perform or to trust God?  I would rather trust God and do good.  And what does it mean to do good?  I believe it means that in whatever corner of life is ours, that is our place to minister and be a blessing to others.  Show kindness.  Meet needs.  Lend a listening ear.  Offer friendship. Share a word of encouragement.  Then, the verse instructs us to “dwell in the land.”  I interpret this as bloom where you’re planted.  Dwell, live, fully enjoy where God has you right now.  The result is “safe pasture.”  As we do these things, delighting in the Lord becomes natural, and then we receive the promise–the desires of our hearts.

     Of course, being human, we are very interested in time.  How long will it take?  When will God do something?  I’ve been still a really long time, and I haven’t heard from heaven!  How long, how long?  It brings to mind an antsy child who won’t leave his parents alone–when, when, when?  The parent says to the child, “Be still.”  This is a common occurrence, obviously something that we struggle with in our very nature.

     Let’s return to Psalm 37 one last time.  Check out verse 7:

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.

There we have it.  Be still and be patient.  We wait on God–we want God’s kind of success, not the kind that comes from following our own way, or man’s way of doing things.  As the saying goes, God may not ever be early, but he is also never late.